MATTHEW WARD

Toward Eternity (Sparrow SPR-1014) 1979

Those who over the years had come to appreciate the impressive vocal range of the male third of 2nd Chapter Of Acts were no doubt delighted when Sparrow gave him the opportunity for an album all his own. With a lineup of Phil Keaggy, Keith Green, and Michael Omartian among others, how could they lose? Some top songwritrers were enlisted as well, Anne Herring and Keith Green who wrote or co-wrote four songs. If it’s the heavier rocking side of Matthew you dug on the 2CA, then you’ll find plenty of good examples of that here, including ‘It’s All Right’, ‘Soft Spot’, ‘Till the Walls Fall Down’ and ‘Your Love Came To Me’. My personal vote, however, would have to go to the intensely moving Keaggy ballad ‘Noah’s Song’ — the perfect vehicle for Matthew’s soulful dynamic range. That track alone makes Toward Eternity absolutely essential. (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).